Casting and Season Selection Policy Statement

The following policy statements are based on the premise that the FAU Department of Theatre and Dance strives to fulfill the following departmental mission and values statement:

Mission

The mission of the Department of Theatre and Dance is to produce innovative artists and scholars through a pursuit of academic and creative excellence.

Values

The Department of Theatre and Dance values:

Engaging in the highest quality of professional training

Providing an experiential approach to the collaborative nature of theatre and dance

Integrating production experience with a scholarly understanding of theatre and dance as artistic forms

Encouraging innovative exploration through classic and contemporary methodologies in theatre and dance

Developing excellence in research and creative expression in the classroom and production process

Encouraging and celebrating diversity in our community

Providing active leadership in the contribution to South Florida culture

Engaging with our various campus and regional communities

As such, the Department of Theatre and Dance adheres to the following policies:

Casting

When casting the department productions and with a commitment to providing equal opportunity to all students, the following criteria are considered:

The pedagogical needs of the students especially those of the MFA (primarily) and BFA (secondarily) degree programs

The quality of the audition given especially with regards to the student’s demonstrated preparedness and connection with the material performed

The skillset and talent of the student as demonstrated in the audition

The student’s preparedness to function effectively within an ensemble and meet the demands of the individual production as demonstrated in the audition

The student’s demonstrated commitment to the department and to their own degree program

The student’s availability and ability to meet the rehearsal and performance demands of the production

The student’s demonstrated professionalism throughout their tenure at the university

Season Selection

When selecting productions, department faculty and key staff consider the following criteria:

Mirroring the curricular progression of the MFA performance degree program especially with regards to the acting classes and the material covered therein in the following sequence: American Realism, Modern Realism, Classical (Elizabethan, Jacobean, Restoration), Anti-Realism/Post-Modernism

The pedagogical needs of the students especially those of the MFA (primarily) and the BFA (secondarily) degree programs

The size and scope of cast as called for in the script with primary importance placed on serving as large a constituency of departmental students as possible

Recognizing the gender imbalance that exists in theatre and promoting plays that offer adequate performance opportunities for all genders.

Providing equal participation opportunities to all departmental students

Tending to the fiscal responsibilities and technical capabilities of the department

The period and genre of a play so as to provide the students with as varied a performance experience as possible; mirroring the variety of material students are likely to encounter in the professional arena

Campuses:

Florida Atlantic University embodies a culture of strategic and collaborative community engagement that results in mutual benefit to the institution and the diverse internal and external communities that it serves.